Treasurers ramp up FinTech investments

Australian corporate treasurers are ramping up their investment in financial technologies (FinTech) to improve their financial management systems, benchmarking research shows.

Research from East shows that treasurers in Australia are planning an average 12.2% increase in their spending on FinTech, the equal second highest among respondents from eight major economies.

In addition, 17.6% of Australian corporate treasurers have directly invested in FinTechs and a further 24.2% are exploring investment opportunities.

Industry group FinTech Australia meanwhile recently announced it has received a $200,000 federal grant to promote Australia as a leading FinTech destination.

The funding grant from the Federal Treasury will be used to undertake international marketing and PR activities to raise awareness of the Australian FinTech sector overseas.

FinTech Australia has also announced it supports the adoption of a technology-neutral anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing (AML/CTF) regulatory regime that will make provisions for digital currencies, wallets and currency exchanges.

In a submission to the Attorney-General’s department, FinTech Australia said it supports the adoption of a new regime by the second half of 2017. Earlier this month, The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre established a dedicated online contact form to help start-ups and and FinTech businesses seek advice on Australia’s AML/CTF regulatory environment.

Image courtesy of Tech in Asia under CC